Once again, I just don't know what to do...

Published Aug 3, 2007

allnurses Guide

2,850 Posts

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Okay, an update. Been working on busy psych unit for a year now. Was working 11p-7a shift, five nights a week, for quite some time and that wasn't too bad. Fairly non-stressful, except for the one odd patient every night who might go off; other than that, not too stressful, not too bad... got along with coworkers... not a terrible gig, you know?

However, the job is almost an hour away from my house, and gas prices were just KILLING my family financially, so I found it necessary to cut down to driving up here just three days a week. In order to do that, I had to start working two double shifts a week, and one 11-7 shift.

Since I started doing that... oh my... every evening that I come in this place lately, I think many many times how much I want out of this job, how much I just want to go back to my old job. My old job was on a med/surge floor.

But then, often what happens is that 3-11 winds down, 11-7 gets here... things get quiet, I get to chatting with my old 11-7 friends... and all is right with the world again.

So.... I do really miss my old job a lot at times, I really do. I miss the hands-on work. I miss the IV's, and the dressings, and the foley cath insertions. I miss being on my feet most of the time. I miss having a job where I feel like I'm actually DOING something; in this job, though it can be so easy a good portion of the time... I often feel quite useless, or feel like I'm a babysitter for the patients AND my staff.

I miss having patients that DON'T "go off" at the drop of the hat. I miss having patients that can't just walk up to the nurses station at any time and go off and start hitting people.

But... there are also things that I don't miss about my med/surge job that I would dread going back to. Disrespectful doctors. The politics, and feeling like I'm back in high school, because it's the nurses that are outgoing, pretty, and know how to "kiss up" that get their way all of the time and also get to be in all of the commercials and all of the ads for the hospital. Gossipy nurses and techs.

I'm getting to really hate psych nursing. It's getting to the point to where, the 3-11 shift is SO stressful that what is the point of my even driving all the way up here?

At the same time, I don't know if I can go back to handling the stress of a med/surge hospital, unit, whatever.

What I probably need to do is find something outside of a hospital, but what? I've thought about home health.... I'd love to work in a health department, but good jobs doing that are few and far between. Doctor's office, maybe.

Oh well... I don't know... I don't think I want to stay here; like I said the psych patients are starting to drive ME crazy and I feel like I'm losing my "skills" to boot.